Tension
by ensm2121
Summary: If anyone ever found out what Luke and he had done, Casey knew he would have to leave Oakdale.
1. Chapter 1

Luke, Noah, Casey, and Ameera were debating what they should do about Noah and Ameera's pretend marriage. Casey could easily see what Ameera was trying to do, he had to convince, or at least suggest to Luke that Ameera wasn't as innocent as she acted.

"How long do the three of you think you're going to pull this off?" Casey demanded to know.

Noah responded, "We're doing okay so far. And it's not going to be for too long."

"It's already been too long!" Casey got out of the booth Noah, Ameera, Luke and him were sharing and stormed out of the town coffee shop, "Java".

Luke gave Noah a dark look and followed after Casey.

Outside, Casey was struggling to put on his jacket.

Luke grabbed his shoulder, "Casey, wait…"

Casey spoke, "Luke, Ameera's in love with her gay fake husband, who happens to be your boyfriend."

"No. No. No…" Luke started to deny Casey's accusation.

"I quit you, Luke!" Casey turned sharply to face the other boy. Luke's warm brown eyes met Casey's silver-blue eyes. For a full minute, neither of them left each other's gaze. Casey laid his hand gently on Luke's waist.

Luke's gaze shifted to the hand touching him. He looked thrown off about it, but Casey saw something else.

_Does he look… attracted to me? Casey thought. _

He moved his hand downwards, causing Luke to gasp quietly. Luke stepped closer to Casey, until the two's bodies were almost touching each other's.

Suddenly, Casey felt something he never had before, he wanted to do _more_. He wanted to take Luke home with him, take off all his clothes and… Casey couldn't even finish the thought.

Casey thought to himself, _What would Noah think about me wanting to deflower his boyfriend? He would never believe me about Ameera if I did! _

Casey moved his head slightly forward, and his lips met Luke's. Luke slipped his arms around Casey, and they kissed roughly for a few minutes.

Suddenly, Luke jerked away from Casey's embrace.

"Casey, no! We can't!" Luke shouted, and then he ran back to the building.

Casey stood there, staring after Luke. He couldn't believe he had _kissed _a guy. He also couldn't believe that it had been Luke. Luke, who had been there for Maddie while Casey had been rotting away in prison. Luke who was dating Noah, and… Oh god! Noah! He had entirely forgotten about Noah!

_I am so screwed! _Casey thought.

He followed Luke inside, knowing the uncomfortable tension that he was about to face. Casey also knew that he could no longer live in Oakdale if anyone ever found out what he and Luke had done.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I own nothing; all things "As the World Turns" belong to their respective owners. _

Casey entered Java. Noah and Ameera were still sitting at the booth; Luke was lingering by the table, but hadn't actually sat down so far.

"Did you decide to help Ameera?" Noah asked him. Luke began fidgeting his hands.

"Sort of," Luke hedged, still wringing his hands, uncomfortably.

"What do you mean?" Ameera inquired.

"Casey and I-"

Casey interrupted him, "Decided we should all have Dinner this evening, together."

Luke looked a bit disarrayed, but said nothing.

"That sounds wonderful!" Ameera exclaimed in agreement.

"Yeah! And we could have it at the Cabin," Noah suggested to them.

_I hate lying to them like this, _Casey thought, _If only Noah and Ameera knew the truth._

Ameera stood up. "I should start preparing right away then," she said.

"I'll help you," Noah told her.

"That is very kind of you," Ameera replied; then Noah and her left Java, discussing what they were going to prepare.

"Casey, what are we going to do?" Luke despondently asked.

Casey didn't answer. He just stood, looking at Luke. Eventually, he responded, "Maybe we could just put it behind us."

Luke nodded "Yeah," he agreed.

Casey couldn't help thinking about the kiss on his way to the cabin that Gwen and Will was letting Noah and Ameera stay in.

_I think I…might have liked it. No! I couldn't have. Luke's a guy and…I wish it had never happened…But, the way his mouth tasted… _Casey shook his head. He forgave Noah for cheating on Maddie. He knew why he had now; Luke was an _amazing _kisser.

_Maybe I'm dehydrated_, he thought, _and it's making me delirious. _Nevertheless, Casey couldn't even remember when he had been half as excited as he had been when he had kissed Luke.

His thoughts were interrupted when he reached the cabin. Ameera was standing outside, by the door, looking crestfallen.

"Oh, Casey! It's awful!" she cried.

"What's wrong, Ameera? What happened?" Casey asked Ameera.

"Luke was here almost an hour ago. He told Noah that they could no longer be together!" she told him in tears.

"What?!"

Casey couldn't believe it. Luke had said that they were going to forget the kiss. But then he had gone and broken up with Noah!

Ameera continued sobbing. "I think it is my fault! Luke couldn't pretend any longer!"

Casey was speechless.

_She really thinks it's her fault, what should I do? Should I agree with her or should I tell her the truth? _He thought to himself.

Casey sighed and said, "Ameera, I'm to blame."

She looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked him.


	3. Chapter 3

Casey considered this for a minute. _I can't tell her! _, he argued to himself. _Everyone will think I'm gay! I'll have to leave town if I ever want to date another girl. _

Finally, he lied slowly, "I told Luke that he should dump Noah."

"I don't understand. Why would you do that?" asked Ameera.

"I just suggested to Luke that he should give Noah some time to realize how important Luke is to him," Casey fibbed, "I didn't mean for it to be permanent!"

"It's okay, Casey. I understand," Noah said while coming out of Gwen and Will's cabin.

_If only he really did. _

"Will Luke still be coming for Dinner?" he asked Noah.

"He said he had to talk to you about something; I guess we know what that is now," Ameera replied.

_What exactly did Luke tell them? _

Luke didn't attend dinner and it wasn't until afterwards Dinner, when Ameera, Noah, and Casey were sitting in the Living Room talking, until he arrived.

"Hey, Casey," Luke said, and then he pulled Casey into the kitchen, "We need to talk."

_Here it comes. Let's just get it done and over with._

"Casey, I-" Luke started.

Casey interrupted, "Why the hell did you break up with Noah? I thought we were just going to forget we ever kissed!" At the word 'kissed', Casey lowered his voice until it was barely audible.

Luke looked irritated then calmly replied. "I was going to tell to you but I guess you'd rather just yell at me."

"Luke…"

"Casey, I like you." Luke stepped closer to him. They were less than a foot away from each other now. Casey could almost feel the tension; Noah and Ameera were just in the other room.

_What if they walked in and saw us?_

Casey took a step back; he had to distance himself from Luke. He felt the kitchen counter softly hit the middle of his back.

Luke tilted his head slightly then stepped closer to Casey once again.

"Tell me why you broke up with Noah. Did you tell him about…it?" Casey demanded to know.

Luke sighed, then replied, "No. I told him I had found somebody else."

"Found someone el-" Casey began to reply, but just then Noah walked into the kitchen.

Hurriedly, Casey separated from Luke.

"What's going on?" asked Noah.

Luke glanced at Noah, then scampered out of the room. Casey guessed mentally that Luke didn't want to face Noah so soon.

"Nothing," said Casey, shaking his head, he paused then added, "Luke and I were just talking."

"Yeah, that's what bothers me," Noah said quietly.

"Why?" Casey asked.

"It's just that Luke-when he, uh, decided he didn't want to date me anymore-told me that you two had," Noah took a deep breath, he looked almost afraid to finish what he was saying.

Casey ,apprehensively, asked, "Noah, what did Luke tell you?"

"That you two had kissed."


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: I'm probably going to finish this up in the next chapter or so. Sorry it took me so long to write this part!_

"Noah, Luke and I we never meant to-we never planned for us to-"

Noah interrupted Casey's rambling, "It's OK, Casey."

_Why isn't he furious? Why isn't he upset at all, let alone not punching me?_

"No, Noah, it's not OK. I ruined your relationship with Luke." Casey argued. _I have to know why Noah wasn't angry at me._

"I mean-it definitely wasn't easy having my boyfriend tell me he kissed another guy, especially not the one I was preparing to make dinner for," said Noah, "but Luke and I have had this problem before. Well, without the dinner part."

Casey felt disgusted and betrayed. "I'm sorry, Noah, I have to go."

Casey sat at a booth in _Al's Diner_, staring intently at his cell phone. Casey's headache grew steadily. Luke still hadn't called him, even though Casey had phoned him nearly every two minutes.

"You seem tense," A voice said. Casey looked away from his phone for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.

The voice belonged to Alison.

Coldly, he said, "Well, I kind of am."

She sat down across from him. "What's wrong?"

With a sigh, he told her, "Luke."

"What did Luke do?" she asked.

"Luke and I…" Casey trailed off, then finished, "We kissed."

Alison covered her mouth in surprise, "Oh! When?"

"A few days ago."

Suddenly,-and about time, in Casey's opinion- Casey's cell phone rang. Casey answered.

"Casey?" asked the person on the other end.

Casey didn't know who the voice belonged to-it definitely wasn't Luke's, though.

"Yeah?" Casey said.

"This is Oakdale Hospital. Do you know a Mr. Luke Snyder?"

Softly, Alison whispered, "Who is it?"

Casey pressed the phone against his shoulder. "The hospital."

Alison's hand covered her mouth again.

"I know Luke. Why?" Casey asked the caller.

"Mr. Snyder's been injured. He had you listed as a contact."

Casey answered, "I'll be there soon." The line disconnected and a slight humming noise replaced it.

"What is it? Why'd the hospital call?" Alison asked, following Casey as he left _Al's Diner._

"They said Luke had been injured. Come with me to the hospital."

Alison nodded and followed Casey to his car.


	5. Chapter 5

Casey walked briskly into the hospital, Alison shortly behind. They approached the front desk.

"Hi, can we know what room Luke Snyder is in?" Alison asked the nurse behind the desk.

"May I ask who's inquiring?" the nurse asked, looking up from her paperwork.

"I'm Casey Hughes and this is Alison Stewart," Casey told her.

The nurse looked at him, "You're Mr. Snyder's contact. Go ahead. He's in room 318."

"Thank you!" Alison called as she and Casey walked down the hallway towards Luke's room.

They reached the door and Casey pushed it open. What was inside the room made Casey's stomach turn. Luke lay on the hospital bed, deep purple bruises on his face.

"Luke, what happened to you?" Casey asked, pulling a chair beside Luke's bed.

Luke answered, in a shaking voice, "I was walking. All of a sudden, this guy runs up with a baseball bat. He started hitting me with it and-" Luke broke off. Casey wondered rather it was because Luke could barely talk or because thinking about it hurt Luke.

Several hours later, Casey is still visiting Luke. Luke has fallen asleep. Alison has already left, mumbling something about work.

Casey leans over Luke's bed. He hates how the bruises look. They make Luke look small and weak, things Casey know Luke's not. He softly presses his lips to Luke's. Luke shifts slightly, but does not wake.

Casey spends the entire night at the hospital. The next morning, Noah comes to visit. He walks into the room, and then looks uncomfortable when he sees Casey there.

"Oh. Sorry, I'll just leave if you're-" Noah trails off, unsure of what to say.

"No, come on in," Casey says. He pulls out the chair beside him and motions for Noah to sit in it. Noah sits in the chair. Neither Casey nor Noah speak for several minutes.


	6. Chapter 6

The tension between Noah and Casey grew until Casey could not stand it any longer.

"Noah, I'm really sorry. This was never supposed to happen."

Noah glanced down at the floor, then back up at Casey. "It's not your fault, Casey. It's just that everything seemed fine- until I married Ameera. It's like she caused a rift between me and Luke. He began to see other guys behind my back and got involved in some bad things. I knew what was happening, but I couldn't stop it. Maybe I didn't want to."

Noah burst out sobbing. Casey wrapped his arms around Noah and held him.

The funeral for Luke was a few months later.

Casey was not going to go to it.

He had enrolled at the University of Chicago and found an apartment in the area. Somehow, the news of Luke and Casey's kiss had gotten around Oakdale. He had to escape from the town of Oakdale and the tension that it's residents felt on a day to day basis.


End file.
